The Song Dynasty’s Strange Case Files: The Drum of the Ninth Heaven

At the first drumbeat, grass and trees spring to life. At the second, memories fade to blank. At the third, old wounds reopen.

At the fourth, songs and music pass away. At the fifth, one prays to the heavens. At the sixth, the heart’s secrets become clear.

At the seventh, light stirs in the dark. At the eighth, the road disappears from view. At the ninth, flowers bloom on the other shore.

Some say the Nine Heavens Drum is a person. Some say it is a treasure. Others say that finding it will make your greatest wish come true.

As Gu Changming and Dai Guozi follow the twists and turns of a baffling case, they discover that the Nine Heavens Drum has always been close at hand. Mysterious symbols left behind and messages passed along by all sorts of people force them to stumble onward in their search.

With pressure mounting inside and outside the imperial court, and across Western Xia and the Liao, the storm is about to break. The real mastermind behind it all is now plain to see, waiting for clear-eyed minds to unravel the truth piece by piece.